There’s No Learning in E-Learning:
Building Communities Supporting Entrepreneurship, Student
Motivation, and Instructor Innovation
Curtis J. Bonk
Indiana University and CourseShare.com
http://php.indiana.edu/~cjbonk
http://CourseShare.com
cjbonk@indiana.edu
Exponential Growth of the Web
A Vision of E-learning for
America’s Workforce, Report of the
Commission on Technology and Adult Learning, (2001, June)
• A remarkable 84
percent of two-and four-
year colleges in the United States expect to
offer distance learning courses in 2002” (only
58% did in 1998) (US Dept of Education report, 2000)
• Web-based training is expected to increase
900 percent between 1999 and 2003.”
(ASTD, State of the Industry Report 2001).
Question: Why is there no
learning in e-learning???
A. Poor pedagogy?
B. Inferior online tools?
C. Unmotivated students and instructors?
D. Poor research?
E. Not measuring it effectively?
F. Vendor and administrator visions do not
match reality?
And the next video please!!!
What’s the Basic DL Finding?
Research since 1928 shows that DL
students perform as well as their
counterparts in a traditional classroom
setting.
Per: Russell, 1999, The No Significant
Difference Phenomenon (5th Edition),
NCSU, based on 355 research reports.
http://cuda.teleeducation.nb.ca/nosignificantdifference/
Distance Learning Research
•Flaws in research designs
- Only 36% have objective learning measures
- Only 45% have comparison groups
• When effective, it is difficult to know why
- Course design?
- Instructional methods?
- Technology?
What do we need???
FRAMEWORKS!
1. Reflect on Extent of Integration:
The Web Integration Continuum
Level 1: Course Marketing/Syllabi via the Web
Level 2: Web Resource for Student Exploration
Level 3: Publish Student-Gen Web Resources
Level 4: Course Resources on the Web
Level 5: Repurpose Web Resources for Others
======================================
Level 6: Web Component is Substantive & Graded
Level 7: Graded Activities Extend Beyond Class
Level 8: Entire Web Course for Resident Students
Level 9: Entire Web Course for Offsite Students
Level 10: Course within Programmatic Initiative
2. Four Key Hats of Instructors:
– Technical—do students have basics? Does their
equipment work? Passwords work?
– Managerial—Do students understand the
assignments and course structure?
– Pedagogical—How are students interacting,
summarizing, debating, thinking?
– Social—What is the general tone? Is there a
human side to this course? Joking allowed?
– Other: firefighter, convener, weaver, tutor, conductor, host,
mediator, filter, editor, facilitator, negotiator, e-police,
concierge, marketer, assistant, etc.
3.
Push to Explore: "You might want
to write to Dr. ‘XYZ’ for...," "You
might want to do an ERIC search on
this topic...," "Perhaps there is a URL
on the Web that addresses this
topic..."
And We Need Other Instructor
E-Learning Support!!!
Problems Faced
Administrative:
Pedagogical:
• “Lack of admin vision.”
• “Lack of incentive from
admin and the fact that
they do not understand the
time needed.”
• “Lack of system support.”
• “Little recognition that this
is valuable.”
• “Rapacious U intellectual
property policy.”
• “Unclear univ. policies
concerning int property.”
• “Difficulty in performing
lab experiments online.”
• “Lack of appropriate
models for pedagogy.”
Time-related:
• “More ideas than time to
implement.”
• “Not enough time to
correct online assign.”
• “People need sleep; Web
spins forever.”
Training
Outside Support
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Training (FacultyTraining.net)
Courses & Certificates (JIU, e-education)
Reports, Newsletters, & Pubs
Aggregators of Info (CourseShare, Merlot)
Global Forums (FacultyOnline.com; GEN)
Resources, Guides/Tips, Link Collections,
Online Journals, Library Resources
Certified Online Instructor Program
• Walden Institute—12 Week
Online Certification (Cost
= $995)
• 2 tracks: one for higher ed
and one for online
corporate trainer
– Online tools and purpose
– Instructional design theory
& techniques
– Distance ed evaluation
– Quality assurance
– Collab learning communities
Administrators and faculty members
at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology are debating what could
become a $100-million effort to
create extensive World Wide Web
pages for nearly every course the
university offers.
Jeffrey R. Young, March 1, 2001, The Chronicle of Higher Ed
In an effort to analyze and
improve their teaching, some
professors are creating
multimedia portfolios that try to
capture the complex interactions
that occur in the classroom.
Jeffrey R. Young, The Chronicle of Higher Ed (reporting on
the new Knowledge Media Lab, created by the Andrew
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching)
http://merlot.org
http://www.utexas.edu/world/lecture/
Inside Support…
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Instructional Consulting
Mentoring (strategic planning $)
Small Pots of Funding
Help desks, institutes, 1:1, tutorials
Summer and Year Round Workshops
Office of Distributed Learning
Colloquiums, Tech Showcases, Guest Speakers
– Newsletters, guides, active learning grants, annual
reports, faculty development, brown bags, other
professional development
But there is another
problem…
But How Avoid
Shovelware???
“This form of structure… encourages
teachers designing new products to
simply “shovel” existing resources into
on-line Web pages and discourages any
deliberate or intentional design of
learning strategy.” (Oliver & McLoughlin,
1999)
Survey Finds Concern on
Administrative Computing
Chronicle of Higher Ed, June 22, 2001, A33, Jeffrey R. Young
“Campus-technology
leaders say they worry
more about administrativecomputing systems than
about anything else related
to their jobs.”
(survey by Educause—an academictechnology consortium)
How Bad Is It?
“Some frustrated Blackboard users who say
the company is too slow in responding to
technical problems with its coursemanagement software have formed an
independent users’ group to help one
another and to press the company to
improve.”
(Jeffrey Young, Nov. 2, 2001, Chronicle of Higher Ed)
What Pedagogical Tools and Activities
are Needed?
Percent of Respondents
Online Instructional Activities
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Scientific
Simulations
Data Analysis
Actual Use
Lab
Performance
High Usability
Critical and
Creative Thinking
Pedagogical Tools
Needed!!!
• Creative Thinking
• Critical Thinking
• Cooperative Learning
• Motivational
Intrinsic Motivational Terms?
1. Tone/Climate: Psych Safety, Comfort, Belonging
2. Feedback: Responsive, Supports, Encouragement
3. Engagement: Effort, Involvement, Excitement
4. Meaningfulness: Interesting, Relevant, Authentic
5. Choice: Flexibility, Opportunities, Autonomy
6. Variety: Novelty, Intrigue, Unknowns
7. Curiosity: Fun, Fantasy, Control
8. Tension: Challenge, Dissonance, Controversy
9. Interactive: Collaborative, Team-Based, Community
10. Goal Driven: Product-Based, Success, Ownership
Intrinsic Motivation
“…innate propensity to engage one’s interests
and exercise one’s capabilities, and, in doing so,
to seek out and master optimal challenges
(i.e., it emerges from needs, inner strivings, and personal
curiosity for growth)
See: Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985).
Intrinsic motivation and selfdetermination in human behavior. NY:
Plenum Press.
Extrinsic
Motivation
“…is motivation that arises from external contingencies.”
(i.e., students who act to get high grades, win a trophy,
comply with a deadline—means-to-an-end motivation)
See Johnmarshall Reeve (1996). Motivating Others: Nurturing inner
motivational resources. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
E-Learning Pedagogical Strategies
Motivational and Ice Breakers:
1.
8 Noun Introductions
2.
Coffee House Expectations
3.
Scavenger Hunt
4.
Two Truths, One Lie
5.
Public Commitments
6.
Share-A-Link
Creative Thinking:
1.
Brainstorming
2.
Role Play
3.
Topical Discussions
4.
Brainstormed Topical Discussions
5.
Recursive Tasks
6.
Electronic Séance
Critical Thinking:
1.
Electronic Voting and Polling
2.
Delphi Technique
3.
Reading Reactions
4.
Instructor Gen Virtual Debates
5.
Student Gen Virtual Debates
6.
Field Reflection
7.
Student Generated Online Cases
8.
Interactive Peer & Guest Comment
Collaborative Learning:
1.
Starter-Wrapper (with roles)
2.
Structured Controversy
3.
Email Pals/Web Buddies
4.
Critical/Constructive Friends
5.
Symposium or Expert Panel
6.
Electronic Guest/Mentors (Chats)
7.
Jigsaw & Group Problem Solving
8.
Gallery Tours
1. Tone/Climate: Ice Breakers
1. Eight Nouns Activity:
1. Introduce self using 8 nouns
2. Explain why choose each noun
3. Comment on 1-2 peer postings
2. Two Truths, One Lie (Kulp, IBM)
1. Tell 2 truths and 1 lie about yourself
2. Class votes on which is the lie
2. Feedback:
Peer Reactions
3. Engagement:
Electronic Voting and Polling
1. Ask students to vote on issue before class
(anonymously or send directly to the instructor)
2. Instructor pulls our minority pt of view
3. Discuss with majority pt of view
4. Repoll students after class
(Or Delphi or Timed
Disclosure Technique)
anonymous input till a due date
and then post results and
reconsider until consensus
Rick Kulp, IBM, 1999)
4. Meaningfulness:
Job or Field Reflections
1. Instructor provides reflection or
prompt for job related or field
observations
2. Reflect on job setting or observe in field
3. Record notes on Web and reflect on
concepts from chapter
4. Respond to peers
5. Instructor summarizes posts
7. Curiosity:
A. Electronic Seance
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Students read books from famous dead people
Convene when dark (sync or asynchronous).
Present present day problem for them to solve
Participate from within those characters (e.g.,
read direct quotes from books or articles)
• Invite expert guests from other campuses
• Keep chat open for set time period
• Debrief
7. Curiosity:
Synchronous Chats
1. Webinar, Webcast
2. Guest speaker moderated Q&A forum
3. Guest expert open chats
4. Peer Q&A and Dialogue
5. Team activities or meetings
6. Instructor meetings, private talk, admin help
7. Quick Polls/Quizzes, Voting Ranking, Surveys
8. Brainstorming ideas, What-Ifs, Quick reflections
9. Graphic Organizers in Whiteboard (e.g., Venn)
10. Twenty Questions, Pruning the tree
News Flash: “Instant Messenger (IM)
is a huge corporate tool, yet rarely
mentioned in corporate productivity or
learning plans.” TechLearn TRENDS, Feb. 6, 2002
• Jupiter Media Metrix:
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8.8 million AOL IM users at work
4.8 million MSN users at work
3.4 million Yahoo! Messenger users at work
Doubled from 2.3 billion minutes in Sept. 2000 to 4.9
billion minutes in Sept. 2002.
• It can connect learners to each other and provide easier
access to the instructor (the MASIE Center).
8. Tension:
Role Play
• List possible roles or personalities (e.g.,
coach, questioner, optimist, devil’s
advocate, etc.)
• Sign up for different role every week (or
for 5-6 key roles during semester)
• Reassign roles if someone drops class
• Perform within roles—try to refer to
different personalities in peer
commenting
9. Interactive E-mail Pals, Critical Friends
10. Goal Driven:
Group Problem
Solving
“Colleges and universities
ought to be concerned not
with how fast they can ‘put
their courses up on the
Web,’ but with finding out
how this technology can be
used to build and sustain
learning communities”
Hiltz (1998, p. 7)
How Facilitate Online Community?
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Safety: Establish safe environment
Tone: Flexible, inviting, positive, respect
Personal: Self-disclosures, open, stories telling
Sharing: Share frustrations, celebrations, etc
Collaboration: Camaraderie/empathy
Common language: conversational chat space
Task completion: set milestones & grp goals
Other: Meaningful, choice, simple, purpose...
How to foster e-learning
entrepreneurship in
New Zealand???
Technology Sails the
South Seas
“The first step in the war against foreign
invaders is to build a robust startup
climate” …Some would argue that in
agriculture- related biotechnology
research, no country surpasses New
Zealand. And with..Lord of the Rings,
the country’s special effects, multimedia,
and digital animation industries are at
the technological forefront.”
David Lipshultz, Red Herring, January 2002, p. 34. (Interview with
Steven Tindall, New Zealand’s largest venture capital investor).
University Entrepreneurship
• Colleges target corp training/exec education.
• 22 virtual universities to cooperate.
• 9 universities on 4 continents collaborate to
offer online graduate and professional
development courses in Asia.
• Univ of the Arctic is a partnership of 31 “high
latitude” colleges, universities, and
governments across 8 nations. First course is
“Introduction to Circumpolar Studies.” (Feb
15, 2002, Chronicle of Higher Education)
“At one university, (the
Univ of North Texas)
royalties entice professors
to design Web courses”
(to spend on professional dev, research, grading, teaching
help, or pocket as a bonus)…however, the department had
to add an extra fee—about $8.50 per students—to cover the
professor’s royalty.” Jeffrey Young, March 30, 2001, Chronicle of
Higher Education
“Before creating or teaching a
course, professors sign a contract
outlining who owns what, and
how much of any future revenue
from the course the professor will
get if the university offers the
course without his or her
involvement.” (contract copies are at:
http://www.unt.edu/cdl/approval_procedures/intellectual.htm)
Jeffrey Young, March 30, 2001, Chronicle of Higher Education
Faculty Entrepreneurship
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Radio Stations
Online Journals
Start Discussion Forums
Freelance Instructor & Guest Expert
Develop new courses or programs
Teaching music performance over Web
Promoting exec ed programs
The Good
Douglas Rowlett has turned his Englishdepartment office into a virtual radio
station that broadcasts continuously on
the Internet, offering a mix of poetry
readings, lectures, and popular music. He
plans to deliver entire courses over the
Internet radio station.
Jeffrey R. Young (Jan 8., 2001). Chronicle of Higher Ed.
The Bad
Michael J. Saylor’s plans to create an online
university that would offer free education
all over the world appear to have been put
on hold, at least temporarily. Mr. Saylor,
the software magnate, has been occupied
for the past few months with financial
difficulties at his company, MicroStrategy,
Inc.
(Sarah Carr, June 22, 2000, Chronicle of Higher Ed)
And The Ugly
Santa Clara University has fired an
adjunct instructor who sold his
students thousands of dollars worth of
stock in an online-education venture
that appears to never have gotten off
the ground.
Sarah Carr, The Chronicle of Higher Ed.
Developing a Successful Partnership Portfolio
(Duin & Baer, in press)
• Need to List: Vision, Description, Beliefs,
Assumptions, Operations, Commitment,
Collaboration, Risk, Control, Adaptation, and ROI
(for learners, faculty, campus, state/country)
• Five Types of Partnerships: Commerce alliance,
minority equity investment, joint venture, spin off,
and merger or acquisition
• Four Types of Risks: legal, financial,
experimentation, and academic
Other ARTI Help
http://arti.indiana.edu/
• Help with Tech Transfer.
– Intellectual Property, Invention Disclosure, etc.
• Licensing, Patents, and Trademarks.
• Access to best strategists, scientists, cuttingedge labs, communication tools, info
technologies.
• Training, consortia, mentoring, sharing
meetings.
• Multidisciplinary project teams, resources, and
facilities.
“We are evolving out of the era of the
Lone Rangers…faculty members
can choose to be involved in the
design, development, content
expertise, delivery, or distribution of
course…” (Richard T. Hezel)
Sarah Carr, (Dec 15, 2000, A47), A Day in the Life of a New Type of
Professor, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Faculty Member in 2020
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Track 1: Technical Specialist
Track 2: Personal Guide
Track 3: Online Facilitator
Track 4: Course Developer
Track 5: Course or Program Manager
Track 6: Work for Hire Online Lecturer
Track 7: High School Teacher
Track 8: Unemployed
Student Differences in 2020
• Live Longer
• More Educated
– Multiple Degrees
– Accustomed to Multiple Learning Formats
– Design own programs and courses
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Specialists AND Generalists
Courses/Degrees for unknown occupations
Expect to Take Courses Where Live
Cyber-students (various digital aids attached to appendages)
Possible Scenarios in Year 2020
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Virtual U’s and Traditional U’s Coexist
Traditional Univ’s buy stake in Virtual U’s
Traditional Univ’s form Consortia
Some Trad U’s Move Ahead, Some Don’t
Other Technology arise well beyond Web
Large Virtual U’s Buy Competing
Traditional U’s and shut them down
What Uses for Old Institutions
of Higher Learning???
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Museums
Historical Monuments
Bomb Shelters
Resorts and Apartment Complexes
Nostalgic Retirement Homes
Green Space
Prisons
Final advice…whatever
you do…don’t Bonk!!!